1. Field
Embodiments relate to a cooling apparatus of a battery module.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a battery module is formed by connecting a plurality of lithium ion secondary batteries in series. At this case, unlike primary batteries that is not rechargeable, the secondary batteries are rechargeable batteries that are widely used in electronic appliances such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and notebook computers.
Specifically, such a lithium ion secondary battery has an operation voltage of about 3.6 V, which is three times greater than that of a nickel-cadmium battery or nickel-hydrogen battery that is widely used as a power source of electronic equipment. In addition, since lithium ion secondary batteries have a high energy density per unit weight, applications thereof are rapidly increasing. Thus, high power secondary batteries using non-aqueous electrolyte having a high energy density are being recently developed.
A plurality of high power secondary batteries are connected in series to form a battery module to be used in an apparatus requiring a large power, for example, a vehicle. Such battery modules emit a large amount of heat, and thus, require effective temperature management for preventing degradation.